


Three

by bioticsandheadshots



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Fluff, Multi, Polyamory, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unspecified Gender Shepard (Mass Effect)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 09:11:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14281665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bioticsandheadshots/pseuds/bioticsandheadshots
Summary: For Commander Shepard's birthday I wanted to publish something to celebrate. My good friend,canardroublard, threw down the gauntlet and challenged me to fluff. So I dug deep and wrote the fluffiest thing I could think of. Enjoy!Happy birthday Commander Shepard! It's about time I gave you some happiness.





	Three

**Author's Note:**

> For Commander Shepard's birthday I wanted to publish something to celebrate. My good friend, [canardroublard](http://archiveofourown.org/users/canardroublard/pseuds/canardroublard), threw down the gauntlet and challenged me to fluff. So I dug deep and wrote the fluffiest thing I could think of. Enjoy!
> 
> Happy birthday Commander Shepard! It's about time I gave you some happiness.

Three months stuck on the Citadel is three months too long. Shepard is going crazy cooped up, even on the largest space station in the galaxy. A Marine isn’t meant for sitting around. But that’s how the Alliance wanted to play it, for now.

After Sovereign’s defeat, there’d been talk of sending Shepard any number of places, most of them suspected geth outposts. Instead, Udina had pushed for Shepard’s arrest following the theft of the Normandy. Anderson had also been arrested on charges of treason and assault. Hackett is doing his best to get them cleared of all charges but, in the meantime, both of them are confined to holding cells on the station.

‘Hurry up and wait’ has always been a military rule, but one Shepard has never been good at. It will be a miracle to leave this place with any sanity intact, and that’s _if_ Hackett is able to make the committee see reason.

As if in answer to unsaid prayers, Shepard’s omni-tool pings with an incoming call.

“You treating my ship alright?”

“Hello to you too, Skipper.” Ashley grins, her eyes sparkling in the orange glow that can only mean they’re at Kaidan’s terminal. The lieutenant is beside her, both of them filling the screen.

For the first time this week, Shepard feels a sense of calm.

Despite being stuck in jail, saving the galaxy came with _some_ perks. At least the Alliance hadn’t taken away access to the outside world, even if Shepard’s omni-tool had been stripped of all military functions first. The extranet is great and all, but the lifeline to the Normandy is the one that means the most.

“You doing okay, Shepard?” Kaidan’s voice is tinged with concern, his eyebrows furrowed as he scrutinizes Shepard’s face for any sign of distress.

“Better now,” Shepard says with a smile.

Ashley rolls her eyes, but her grin is as bright as ever. “You two are such saps.”

“Someone has to be,” Kaidan smirks and bumps his shoulder into hers.

The three of them share the particulars of their day-to-days. While Shepard is stuck in this small cell, the Normandy is out hunting down remaining pockets of geth resistance. It’s nice just to hear their voices even if the ache to be with them again grows a little more each time they call.

“Exciting stuff,” Shepard remarks, trying to hide jealousy as Ashley gets done recounting their battle against geth in the Attican Beta cluster.

“Kaidan even let me drive!” Ashley adds.

The lieutenant huffs. “I didn’t _let_ you anything. And if I’d have known ahead of time that you drive like Shepard, I would have insisted _you_ take the guns.”

Shepard laughs. “That sounds vaguely like an insult, K.”

Remembering the rush of driving the Mako fills Shepard with equal measures of envy and adrenaline withdrawal; surging over cliffs and slamming the thrusters seconds before impact, going almost 90 degrees up sheer inclines, firing the cannons and watching the targets disintegrate.

“It’s not like I broke anything!”

Kaidan lifts an eyebrow. “Come again?”

“Okay, fine! I didn’t break anything that couldn’t be fixed. Besides, Garrus was happy to have something to do.”

“Ash, you better enjoy it while you can,” Shepard teases. “When I’m back, _I’m_ the only one that’ll be doing any driving.”

“God help us all,” Kaidan mutters.

Ashley pushes her lower lip into a pout. “You’re no fun, LT. And Shepard, we’ll see about that. I might have to challenge you to a shooting match for driving privileges or something.”

“Oh, you’re on, Chief.” Excitement rushes through Shepard’s blood. Friendly competition with Ash is about as good as it gets; she’s damn good.

“I’m going to hold you to that.” She yawns the last words. “Sorry Skipper. Been a long day. We really should get some sleep.”

“It’s alright, Ash. Hit the rack,” Shepard answers, understanding their need for sleep even though it means going back to solitary to stare at blank walls. Saying goodbye gets a little harder every time they do it.

Kaidan doesn’t move when she stands. “You go on ahead, Ash. I’m not quite tired yet.”

“Of course not,” she says, winking at Shepard over Kaidan’s shoulder. “Talk to you soon, Shepard.” She squeezes Kaidan’s shoulder and blows a kiss to them both before disappearing from view.

It takes less than five minutes for Kaidan to ask again if Shepard is okay. “Tell me the truth this time,” he adds.

“Really, I’m fine. Bored out of my mind,” Shepard shrugs, “but fine.”

“Hackett called earlier today, thinks he’s finally making way with the committee.”

“Oh yeah? Has Udina finally been outraged enough times that people have stopped taking him seriously?” Shepard smirks.

“I think it has more to do with the fact that some of our ships are disappearing without a trace. Hackett wants you back out in the fray.”

“Would it be wrong to be happy about that?” Shepard asks, earning a frown from Kaidan in response. “Okay, _happy_ is not exactly the word for it. You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I know. It’ll be good to have you back.” Kaidan hesitates before adding, “I miss you.”

It’s still new, this thing between them…between all of them really. Sparks have been there from the beginning, but they’ve tiptoed around it for months, each trying to come to terms with their feelings.

Out of the three of them, Kaidan has been the most open to the whole thing, though there’s still a hesitation and the ‘way out’ he always leaves as an option for the others. Meanwhile, Shepard is still learning to accept developing feelings for not one (a definite Alliance no-no on its own), but two subordinates and Ashley has demons of her own. She’s worked hard to get to where she is in the Alliance in spite of her grandfather’s history; caring for two officers might add to an already ugly black mark on her family name and that’s in addition to the struggle she’s had coming to terms with how her feelings fit in with her beliefs.

Three words, eight letters. Shepard’s not there, not yet, but despite this messy, fragile _thing_ , imagining life without either of them is impossible now.

So Shepard’s answer is a different combination of three words, eight letters. “I miss _you_. You know what would have been really good? Getting to take that shore leave like we planned.”

The sweet, eager smile that Shepard loves spreads across Kaidan’s face. “You still want to?”

“As long as you still teach me to ice skate.”

“Hey, I promised, didn’t I?”

“You know what else you promised?” Shepard chuckles at the blush that spreads across Kaidan’s cheeks. “Should I even ask what just crossed your mind?”

Kaidan shakes his head, cheeks still flaming. “Better not.”

“Well, get your head out of the gutter then. Unless I can convince you to tell me, in detail,” Shepard adds with a wink, causing Kaidan’s blush to spread even further.

A knock at the cell door interrupts what could have been a very _interesting_ conversation.  

“Shit, hold that thought.” Shepard minimizes the video screen and turns to answer the door.

By the time Shepard has been notified of a committee meeting the following morning and flicked the screen back to life, Kaidan is fast asleep. He’s still sitting in the hard seats that line the wall next to his terminal, chin tucked into his chest, small puffs of air that are _almost_ snores (enough that Shepard can give him a hard time about it later) reaching Shepard’s ears.

“Goodnight, K,” Shepard whispers, finger reaching out to end the call.

That finger seems to have a mind of its own, hesitating over the button. Keeping the line open is almost as good as being there on the Normandy and Shepard isn’t quite ready to let it go yet. _Just for a little while_ , Shepard silently promises the empty room.

“OH MY GOD!” Ashley’s voice jolts Shepard awake. _Ashley?_ How…? “You two are enough to make my teeth rot. Literal light years apart and you still manage to sleep together.”

Clarity edges out the confusion clouding Shepard’s thoughts and a look at the clock reveals it’s five o’clock in the morning. At some point, Shepard must have fallen asleep and ‘a little while’ must have turned into all night.

_Ash is never going to let this go._

* * *

 

Ashley loves retelling the story of catching Kaidan and Shepard asleep together that morning, though this is the first time she has a captive audience. It earns an “aww” from Samantha and Steve, and a catcall from Vega. Jack snorts something that sounds a lot like “pussies” from where she leans against the weapons bench.

Shepard waits, letting everyone settle down. “Why don’t you tell them about the first time _we_ slept together?”

“I…you…SHEPARD!” Ashley sputters, whirling around to glare at Shepard.

Kaidan rolls his eyes, knowing very well that the story she’s thinking of is not nearly as innocent as the one she’s just told. He pulls Ashley on to his lap and she buries her face in his neck, trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Checkmate.” Shepard grins. Ashley flips a middle finger to the room without turning away from Kaidan.

Despite the fact that the three of them have been a “thing” for awhile now, this is the first time they’ve been anything other than discreet about their unconventional relationship. But the Normandy is home and everyone onboard is family. So Shepard crosses the cargo bay and presses a kiss to Ash’s cheek before wrapping an arm around both her and Kaidan. “You know I love you.”

Three words, eight letters…it comes as easily to Shepard now as breathing.

“Damn,” Jack whistles. “And I thought I was the only kinky one here.”

Joy fills Shepard’s chest and not even the threat of the Reapers can diminish it.                  

 


End file.
